TMZ Sports - Page 50

He might be the welcher-weight champion of the world ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned Antonio Tarver was sued over unpaid gambling debts by TWO VEGAS CASINOS before his problems with the Wynn.

According to court docs, Tarver got into some trouble with the MGM Grand and the Bellagio back in 2009 after taking out a heavy-duty gambling marker at each hotel and failing to pay it back.

MGM Grand says ... Tarver borrowed $100k but only paid back $10k
Bellagio says ... Tarver borrowed $50k but only paid back $5k.

They sued -- and according to court records, both casinos got their money back two years later.

But Tarver didn't learn his lesson. As we previously reported, the 45-year-old was locked up for allegedly skipping out on a $200,000 gambling marker from the Wynn stemming from 2012.

Tarver suggested his friend would help him repay the debt -- as long as he gets back in the ring and starts boxing again.

We spoke to Tarver's reps who insist the guy does NOT have a gambling problem.

Wanna bet?

Dear Ty Lawson,

We get it. The Lakers are terrible. First, they lost to the Clippers on Thursday by a whopping 48. Then last night in Denver, you made Lakers guard Jodie Meeks FALL DOWN ON HIS ASS with an ill crossover dribble.

The video above (which was posted by the NBA's official account) shows the move from every angle imaginable.

This isn't the first time you clowned the boys in purple in gold. Last year you

to our cameras after beating the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Blink and you'll miss it ... but when we asked comedian Bill Bellamy about the best celebrity basketball players he's seen, check out the surprise in his voice when he brings up a white guy.

Bellamy drops the words "actually good" before mentioning the guy's name (hint: he's part owner of an NBA team) and there's some definite subtle reverse racism in the way he says it.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are finally making some progress ... at least when it comes to fashion ... because TWO top couture designers tell us the new Bucs uniforms are downright SEXY!

TMZ Sports spoke with "Project Runway" alum Michael Costello -- who also designed Beyonce's Grammy dress -- and he tells us he's all about the change in Tampa Bay.

"I LOVE the new uniform," Costello says ... "It's fresh, it's cool. It's a lot sexier. The old one looked like a t-shirt."

We also spoke with celeb stylist/designer June Ambrose ... who's worked with huge stars like Jay Z and Diddy ... who's also fired up for the Bucs' new uni to hit the field.

"The look reminds me of this wild black bird! It's a sexy suit ... looks like it's ready for the runway!"

Ambrose adds, "I love how it minimizes the tight end of the players tail. The suit is sleek and super powerful! All the ingredients for the iconic class."

It's good news for the Bucs -- 'cause as Deion Sanders once said: "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good."

Nick Cannon suddenly has something in common with 2 Super Bowl champs -- they were all targeted for tens of thousands of dollars by an alleged scam artist who just got slapped with multiple felonies.

As TMZ Sports first reported ... ex-Patriots star Jarvis Green was nearly ripped off earlier this year ... by a man who claimed he could hook him up with Miami Heat season tickets AND partial ownership of the team.

According to the California Attorney General's office ... George French Jones made similar offers to Charles Woodson, Warren Moon, and oddly ... Cannon.

Jones was charged today with 11 felonies ... including grand theft, obtaining money by false pretenses, and identity theft.

What's interesting is how much cash he tried to lift from each victim: $50k from Woodson, and $25k from Green.

Clearly he didn't think Nick's pockets were as deep ... because he only asked for, and ultimately got, $15k from Mariah's husband.

But the biggest fish was Moon -- whose rep wired $200,000 to Jones, according to the docs.

Darren Sharper will sit in a Los Angeles jail for another week, while the clock ticks as the New Orleans D.A. decides whether to charge the football star with rape.

Sharper appeared in court today ... trying to get out of the slammer he's been sitting in since last week ... when a New Orleans judge issued an arrest warrant in connection with rape allegations by 2 women.

Sharper wanted out of jail today, but the L.A. Superior Court judge concluded she can't let him because the New Orleans D.A. has 10 full business days to decide whether to charge Sharper. The judge felt she had an obligation to hold him until the 10-day period runs out next Thursday.

So Sharper will sit behind bars and New Orleans has to decide whether to s*** or get off the pot. If he isn't charged by next Thursday, it appears the judge will release Sharper, who has already posted $1 million bail for rape charges that have been filed against him in L.A. County.

Aaron Hernandez has been charged with assault and battery for a ferocious attack on a defenseless inmate last month ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to Sheriff Thomas Hodgson ... the charge is a misdemeanor offense.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Hernandez attacked an inmate who was wearing handcuffs on February 25th. Our sources tell us the victim had been talking smack to Hernandez.

Hernandez was supposed to be isolated for his own protection.

Cops are investigating text messages in a murder-for-hire case in which a skin specialist to the stars bragged about soliciting former Detroit Lions offensive lineman Chris Geile to kill a rival skin specialist ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Geile was a guard who played 3 games for the Lions in 1987.

We reached out to Chris for comment -- but could not reach him.

We know ... skin specialist Dawn DaLuise was arrested on Wednesday for solicitation to commit murder .

Our sources tell us ... the text messages in question were allegedly sent from Dawn to a friend -- and in them, she brags that Chris will "take out" her intended target. She also mentions that Chris is 6'7" and 315 lbs. She also claims he was a QB ... but that just ain't true.

As for DaLuise -- she's currently being held on $1 million bail.

Former UFC fighter Thiago Silva will be RELEASED FROM JAIL ... for the first time since he allegedly grabbed a gun and threatened to shoot his wife in Florida ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Silva was initially locked up without bond when he was arrested on Feb. 7th -- but today, the judge changed his mind and set bond at $25k.

But Silva isn't entirely a free man ... we're told he'll be on house arrest with an electronic monitor for the time being. He must also complete an anger management program.

The judge also ordered Thiago to stay away from his wife and her boyfriend at all times. He must also submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

As we previously reported, Thiago was initially arrested for attempted murder after allegedly threatening to shoot his wife and her BF in front of a martial arts school in FL.

The judge later reduced the charges to aggravated assault. Dana White has since banned Silva from ever fighting in the UFC again.

Balls make the man ... and lack of balls make the woman ... so says a former "RuPaul's Drag Race" star who claims CrossFit is being UNFAIR by not allowing a transgender woman to compete with the females.

TMZ Sports spoke with Carmen Carrera -- a transgender fashion model who was born a man.

Carrera tells us ... Chloie Jonsson is getting the shaft (ironically) from CF, which stated transgender athletes are only allowed to compete in the CrossFit games under their birth gender.

"When you remove your testicles ... that is it. You are no longer a male and you don’t produce testosterone," Carrera says.

"You get weaker ... your whole body switches and it starts to reshape."

Carrera adds, "Put [Chloie] under the test and I bet her [testosterone] levels are the same as the rest of the competitors. Run some tests to make it fair."

As we reported, CrossFit says it will not take testosterone levels into consideration ... insisting it's the "genetic makeup" of a person who was born a male that "confers a physical and physiological advantage over women."

To that, Carmen says ... the person who put that statement together is "probably some loser sitting on some huge set of nuts with testosterone who doesn't know what he is talking about."

A former Detroit Lions football player is suspected of being the hit man in a real-life Hollywood murder for-hire-plot ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports.

The identity of the former NFL player has not been released ... but sources tell us the guy is VERY big (in size).

Here's the backstory -- we know ... celebrity skin specialist Dawn DaLuise was arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to hire someone to kill a skin care competitor. Sources tell us the person she contacted once played for the Lions.

FYI -- The murder was never carried out ... cops stepped in after someone tipped them off about the alleged plot.

Dwyane Wade thinks cheaters really can prosper ... sometimes. He posted a strange message that sounds like he's admitting cheating WITH and ON Gabrielle Union. Dumb move or just brutal honesty?

Plus, Miami Dolphins linebacker Philip Wheeler is fired up about his gf Ashley Nicole's breastfeeding pic. He's wondering why haters are attacking his wife and not Gisele Bundchen ... who did the same thing!

And Phil Jackson enlightens us about his visit with the Dalai Lama. We got "Tibetan stuff" yo!

The Lakers couldn't catch a break last night ... 'cause even before they were blown out by the Clippers, Kobe Bryant was taking shots at Nick Young ... for dressing like "Django."

The doctor who invented "Tommy John Surgery" ranks up with Jackie Robinson when it comes to people who changed baseball forever ... so says Tommy John himself.

TMZ Sports spoke with the iconic MLB pitcher after the passing of Dr. Frank Jobe -- the man who pioneered the elbow surgery that saved Tommy's pitching career ... and countless others.

The surgery, which Jobe first performed on Tommy in 1974, was revolutionary ... in which a torn tendon in the elbow is replaced with a healthy tendon from somewhere else in the body.

John was the first major athlete to undergo the procedure ... and went from considering retirement to winning 164 GAMES following the surgery.

But Tommy says Dr. Jobe wasn't 100% confident it was going to work before he went under the knife.

"Before the surgery, Frank said to me 'do you have something else to do? I'm not sure this is going to work.' He knew my wife was pregnant."

Fortunately, the whole thing worked out ... now more than 1/3 of active MLB pitchers have undergone the "Tommy John surgery."

John says ... "Three people changed baseball more than anyone: Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier. Marvin Miller who changed the players union. And Frank Jobe, who revolutionized the medical side of baseball."

Tommy says he was surprised when he learned of Jobe's passing this week ... explaining, "I sent Frank an email a few weeks ago and I told him 'if I get into the Hall of Fame, I want your butt standing next to me.' He was one of the most important people in my career."

Robert Kraft's hot young girlfriend just scored her very first producer credit on a documentary movie ... a movie that happens to be funded by Kraft's foundation ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ricki Noel Lander is officially credited as a producer on "Israel: The Royal Tour" ... which follows CBS news travel guy Peter Greenberg and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they travel around Israel.

The movie aired on PBS Thursday night and will be released as a DVD. A press release for the flick says it was "made possible in part by the generous contributions of Robert K. Kraft and the Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation."

As for Lander -- who's reportedly been dating the New England Patriots owner since 2012 -- she not only makes a brief appearance in the doc (she can be seen holding a camera), she also hosts the "behind the scenes" special included with the movie.

It's not like Ricki is a stranger to production -- she's been in a bunch of movies as an actress including "Iron Man." But now, it seems she's finally got the connections to make the jump to producer.

Hollywood -- it ain't whatcha know, it's who ya know.